Do you know some naughty little monkeys? Some small-fry that needs a reminder to behave because Santa is watching them? Do you have a holiday party at work and want to give a gag gift? Whoever in your life that deserves a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking will be in for a treat instead when you give them this Coal Candy.

Yesterday our little Elf on the Shelf, Kippers left the kids a poem about behavior to remind them that they still need to behave before Christmas because Santa is watching. This made an impact on my nine-year old son. He is trying to be on good behavior. My four-year old stops what she is doing if you remind her but my six-year-old doesn’t seem to care one way or another. He firmly believes that Santa will grant him his requests regardless of behavior or level of messiness. So that makes this the perfect time to break out the coal candy and remind him he better shape up or he will not be happy on Christmas morning.

The poem from our elf to the little ones.

Last year, a couple of days before Christmas I came across this amazing recipe for coal candy on Sprinkles Bakes and I wanted to try it so bad but I just did not have a chance. I have been waiting this whole time to make this and decided while all of the kids were in school this week to give it a go. Heather has some amazing photos and some tricks she learned making the candy listed on her blog. I highly suggest checking it out. I did make some changes to the recipe though because I wanted to control the sugar more and I wanted it to be more flavorful. If you read through the comments you can see that it is not very flavorful candy. I didn’t want that. While I get that it is more of a textural experience I wanted it to taste good too. I think I achieved that and I am quite pleased with the outcome.

1/2 tsp. Triple Sec or orange extract (I used Triple Sec because it was what I had on hand.)

1 - 1 1/2 tsp. black gel food color (I used AmeriColor Super Black.)

Part 2 Ingredients

2 c. sugar

1 c. Splenda (You can use sugar in place of this. I just swapped it to this to cut some of the overall sugar from the candy.)

1/4 c. water

Instructions

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Part 1

In a large bowl, whisk together one cup of confectioner's sugar, orange zest, flavoring and food 1 tsp. of food coloring. This needs to be thick. If you pick up the whisk and hold it over the bowl you want the sugar mix to stick to the whisk and fall back into the bowl in fat ribbons or clumps. If you pick up the whisk and it just flows right off of it add more powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time until you reach the correct consistency. (I had to use almost 2 cups total.) Once that is done add additional food coloring if needed to make a VERY dark black color. This will lighten in color when combined in step to so get this part good and dark. Set bowl aside and move onto part 2.

Part 2

Place the sugar, Splenda and water into a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Use a spatula to stir everything together. Keep stirring until it begins to look like wet sand. Insert a candy thermometer into the pot and cook, stirring until it reaches 255-258°. (If using all sugar heat to 258-260°.) It should still be thick and grainy with a slight brown tinge. Add the black mixture to the pot now and stir with the spatula until thoroughly combined. It can foam so be careful.

Pour the mixture into the prepared 8x8" pan and let sit at room temperature until hardened completely. Once it has hardened you then need to break it. To do so use a butter knife and mallet. This did the trick for me and were tools I had handy in the kitchen. Package it up and then gift it to any naughty ones on your list.

Notes

This does have a very nice orange flavor but it is strange because the texture is that of rock to a degree. It's fun though and the candy is surprisingly easy to chew.

Jennifer is a mom to 5 boys, 1 girl and 1 husband. Her kids range in age from 4-20 so things are always crazy with everything from preschool, to autism, to college. She tries to bake, craft and blog her way through all of the craziness that life throws her way.

10 Responses to “Know Somebody Who Deserves Some Coal Candy?”

Thanks for sharing this on Saturday Night Fever! I’m like you were last year, it’s too late for me to make it this year (I’m all baked out already!), but it’ s already on my list for next year for sure! HUGS & Merry Christmas!Cheryl recently posted…The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies for #HomemadeHoliday